Tag: Burlingame

Some on the Peninsula are outraged after the San Mateo County District Attorney decided not to file criminal charges against a 19-year-old woman for running over and killing a four-year-old boy in Burlingame this past summer.

Back in August, police said the driver was backing out of a parking lot, then hit kids who were on an e-bike, then plowed over the sidewalk and into a poke bar, hitting 4-year-old Ayden Fang as well as a 6-year-old-girl who were on the sidewalk.

Ayden Fang was killed in that crash, the 6-year-old girl was injured but survived.

After reviewing the case, the district attorney’s office said there was not enough evidence to support manslaughter charges.

In response to this decision, a group of a dozen or so community members gathered on Friday outside the site where the deadly crash happened to express their opposition.

“Thanks for everyone who has come here today, to demand justice for Ayden Fang and his family, and for an end to the increasingly frequent carnage we see on our streets here in San Mateo County, ” said San Mateo resident and local safe streets advocate Mike Swire as he addressed the group at the rally.

‘I think a lot of people would have liked to at least see this go to a jury,” Swire noted.

But the San Mateo County DA’s office is standing by its decision.

San Mateo County Assistant District Attorney Rebecca Baum told NBC Bay Area that their office reviewed the case, “and ultimately decided that we did not agree that 12 members of a jury would agree to convict, would unanimously agree to convict, and because of that, we decided not to file charges.”

Some in the community wondered, why didn’t they just try to bring the case before a jury?

But the DA’s office said it is ethically bound to only file a case if it believes a unanimous jury would find the driver guilty.

The Burlingame community is coming together to remember 4-year-old Ayden Fang. Sunday, more than a hundred people gathered for a vigil and to support his family.

His uncle, Michael Deng, expressed how grateful he was for everyone during this unimaginable time.

“It has felt like a safety net,” said Deng. “To prevent us from sinking.”

Deng spoke next to a photo of Ayden, one of the last ever taken of him.

Ayden’s proud and holding up a sheet of books he read for a library challenge, but the photo also represents just how much of his life was unfinished.

“Painfully,” Deng stated. “This would be his first and last sheet, as he never got the chance to turn it in. The fact that’s he’s gone still feels surreal.”

Ayden was killed on Aug. 8 when a car exiting a parking lot on Donnelly Avenue was hit by an e-bike. The car accelerated across the street, onto the sidewalk and into Truffle Poke Bar, where Ayden was standing outside of the restaurant and was hit by the car.

In his short life, he touched many lives, including his teacher’s Amna Rehamne.

“He was an amazing student,” Rehamne said, explaining that Ayden had joined her 3-year-old class at only 2 and a half. “A teacher’s dream. He was excited about learning, followed directions, and enjoyed practicing newly learned skills. As we try to make sense of this devastating tragedy, I’m grateful that I was his teacher.”

Ayden’s father, Ming Fang, was also visibly emotional when he spoke, saying he was shocked, angry and sometimes still in denial about what happened.

He recounted a story that happened just two days before Ayden’s death, he built a tower out of Legos, asked for a photo, and to put it on the mantle.

“It was only a week later that we were cleaning the family room and noticed his tower sitting on the family room mantle, looking like a monument,” explained Fang. “As we paid closer attention, we saw a couple of the blocks holding a simple and powerful message: protect our city. It gave us chills.”

And it also gives him purpose.

“We’d like to unite the community and improve pedestrian safety here in California,” said Fang, of what he will do going forward. “That’s for Ayden’s brother. That’s for Ayden’s Friends. That’s for Ayden’s city.”

Truffle Poke Bar will reopen on Wednesday with a fundraiser for Ayden; proceeds will go to pedestrian safety initiatives in Burlingame.

Deng’s closing message was to carry on Ayden’s legacy by living like Ayden did.

“His love was pure, and he gave it freely,” said Deng. “A good reminder for us all to do the same.”

A peninsula community came together Sunday to mourn a young boy who was hit by a car and killed in Burlingame two weeks ago.

“Shock, denial, anger and resentment — these were the raw emotions that washed over us immediately after the tragedy two weeks ago,” said Ming Fang, Ayden’s father.

Ayden Fang’s grieving father shared the shock he felt when his 4-year-old son was hit and killed on the sidewalk in front of the Truffle Poké Bar in Burlingame.

With candles in hand, about 300 people gathered to show their support as Ayden’s uncle shared stories of the boy who loved to sing and read.

“He had trouble picking favorites. ‘I love everything,’ he would say when asked. He would frequently tell his parents he loved them,” said Michael Deng, Ayden’s uncle.

Ayden’s preschool teacher said the 4-year-old impressed her from day one.

“He was an amazing student, a teacher’s dream. He was excited about learning,” said Amna Rehmane, Ayden’s preschool teacher.

Some here knew Ayden. Others did not. A community came together to show support for a grieving family.

“I actually responded to the crash and met with the family during this tough time. I brought my own family here to show my respect to them and how hard of a loss it was,” said Justin Jayne with the Daly City Police Department.

Hugs in the face of heartbreak. One by one, people left candles at the growing sidewalk shrine.

Ayden’s father said just days before his death, his son built a Lego tower with a safety symbol on it, inspiring his family to make a difference.

“In due course, we would like to unite the community and improve pedestrian safety here in California,” he said.

He said his son would have wanted to transform despair into a blessing.